Online martial arts courses

[Flying Crane]

I guess I'll play devil's advocate here and say that by that logic any form of physical exercise could be considered a Martial Art, since a physically fit person has better chances of surviving a fight than someone who isn't fit.

I guess I would still define it by the purpose of the activity. Tetherball isn’t designed for combat, though if you play enough and become physically fit that can help you survive or escape from an assault.

Martial practice is designed to develop martial skills. And it ought to help with physical fitness.

By the way, I include combat sports as martial arts, such as boxing and wrestling. Even tho they are mostly designed for competition now, it is a competition of combat and their skills are directly transferable to surviving an attack.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I guess I'll play devil's advocate here and say that by that logic any form of physical exercise could be considered a Martial Art, since a physically fit person has better chances of surviving a fight than someone who isn't fit.

I disagree. I work with new students alllllllll the time who are 30-40 years younger than me and far fitter than me. Doesn't make them the least bit of a challenge. One example is a student I've mentioned before. He's 6' 6" tall (I am 6' 1") and played lineman for the local university. He's 35-ish years younger than me, WAY stronger and much fitter. When he started, taking him apart sparring was very easy. I can still beat him, but after 7 years of training (he was promoted to 1st Dan last November) it's a hell of a lot more difficult than it used to be, and I can guarantee I'm going to have a few bruises afterwards.
Outside the school, I am involved in physical confrontations far too often for my tastes. The vast majority of these confrontations involve someone significantly younger and fitter than me. Doesn't stop me from putting them down. And I'm a worn out, tired, old, one-eyed, fat man.
And no, that doesn't mean I think I'm some sort of world class fighting prodigy. I'm not. Any fantasies I had along those lines was beaten out of me by the time I was a teenager. It just means I've been doing this a long long time, and someone with little or no training is fairly easy to take down.
A martial art, by definition, is focused specifically (albeit to varying degrees depending on myriad factors) on skills that are useful in a fight.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I actually believe that they are NOT special cases. It is not very difficult to watch a video and mimic what you see there.

However, that is not learning martial arts, it is definitely not learning a particular system of martial arts, and it gives a very superficial understanding at best.

Mimicry is not learning nor understanding.

Most folks, if mimicking a video without an experienced person guiding their movements, will fail to do a good job mimicking the video.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I guess I'll play devil's advocate here and say that by that logic any form of physical exercise could be considered a Martial Art, since a physically fit person has better chances of surviving a fight than someone who isn't fit.

He didn't say anything that enhances your chance of winning a fight is a MA. I would say fitness can be (probably should be) part of a martial artist's study, but it's not necessarily part of the martial art, itself.

 

[Flying Crane]

Most folks, if mimicking a video without an experienced person guiding their movements, will fail to do a good job mimicking the video.

That really is kind of the point. It’s not hard to mimic and memorize the pattern of movement. But it’s not a good job, it’s shallow and misses what it is all about.

I’ve done it. When I showed my mimicked form to someone with some knowledge of it, he said yeah it’s right, but at the same time it’s all wrong. It would also depend on the complexity of the material. A less complex form vs. a more complex form, for example.

The attached video in reference, that is more acrobatics with a martial flavor. Someone with an athletic talent and some acrobatics could do those without a lot of trouble. Like the guy in the video. He apparently has the acrobatic ability.

 

[Ondrejmatej]

Hey there everyone! Just wanted to get your thoughts on something. What are your opinions on learning martial arts from an online course, as opposed to at a class or gym? How far can you get learning purely from online videos and so on? And can online courses be a useful supplement to in-person training? Are there any courses that you guys particularly like?

Online course will teach you main things that you need to know when starting to learn Martial Arts.

 

[pdg]

Online course will teach you main things that you need to know when starting to learn Martial Arts.

Depends how you classify 'need'.

They can assist a beginner with learning theory and etiquette.

That's about it really.

An online course can't tell you your stance is wrong, or that you're not leading into a kick or punch properly, or that doing it that way will blow your knee or tear your hip or strain your shoulder or break your wrist. An experienced instructor, in person, will (usually) spot that before you hurt yourself.

I've used online (and printed) resources to help refine stuff I already basically know, or for more complex things built on basic movement, but I'm not a (complete) beginner.


Now, not all courses are equally bad, and some people can watch a move and mimic it perfectly - but on the whole I think a beginner only using videos and stuff is asking for trouble and injury.

 

[JR 137]

I wonder if people on basketball, baseball, football, etc. forums get asked if people can learn how to play their respective sport online? Do people go on boxing forums and ask if they can learn to box online?

I just can’t understand why anyone would be stupid enough to think they can actually learn how to do any complex physical activity, let alone an activity that involves someone trying to defend against you doing it to them, online and on their own.

Are people really so anti-social that they’d rather stare at a computer screen than actually interact with other people? And they wonder why kids these days would rather be glued to a screen than be outside playing.

Find a damn teacher. What’s the problem? Too scary? Too far away? Too expensive? Too hard? Then do something else like Zumba videos online.

Yeah, I’m in one of those moods today. My wife calls it negative. I call it realistic.

 

[Headhunter]

I wonder if people on basketball, baseball, football, etc. forums get asked if people can learn how to play their respective sport online? Do people go on boxing forums and ask if they can learn to box online?

I just can’t understand why anyone would be stupid enough to think they can actually learn how to do any complex physical activity, let alone an activity that involves someone trying to defend against you doing it to them, online and on their own.

Are people really so anti-social that they’d rather stare at a computer screen than actually interact with other people? And they wonder why kids these days would rather be glued to a screen than be outside playing.

Find a damn teacher. What’s the problem? Too scary? Too far away? Too expensive? Too hard? Then do something else like Zumba videos online.

Yeah, I’m in one of those moods today. My wife calls it negative. I call it realistic.

I doubt it's anti social (though it could be due to things like depression or anxiety) cost is the most likely and frankly if all they can do is online stuff then fair enough at least they make the effort to try and learn and no of course they'll never be as good as if they train at a school but at least they're doing something

 

[skribs]

I doubt it's anti social (though it could be due to things like depression or anxiety) cost is the most likely and frankly if all they can do is online stuff then fair enough at least they make the effort to try and learn and no of course they'll never be as good as if they train at a school but at least they're doing something

I can think of several reasons:

• Cost
• Availability - for example, if there are no martial arts schools near you, or else you want to train a specific art that isn't covered in your area. Alternatively, if you don't like the schools that are available in the area, either because you don't trust the instructors or because of a bad experience there, you might not want to train there.
• Time - If you work when the schools are open, especially if you have multiple jobs, then you might not be able to train at a martial arts school. This also goes back up to cost. If your schedule is so sporadic that you can only train once or twice a month at a school, why pay the entire monthly fee the school has?

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

I wonder if people on basketball, baseball, football, etc. forums get asked if people can learn how to play their respective sport online?

When I was a kid, I learned how to swim from a grade school magazine. I have swum all my life and I have never had any swimming teacher.

 

[JR 137]

I doubt it's anti social (though it could be due to things like depression or anxiety) cost is the most likely and frankly if all they can do is online stuff then fair enough at least they make the effort to try and learn and no of course they'll never be as good as if they train at a school but at least they're doing something

I can think of several reasons:

• Cost
• Availability - for example, if there are no martial arts schools near you, or else you want to train a specific art that isn't covered in your area. Alternatively, if you don't like the schools that are available in the area, either because you don't trust the instructors or because of a bad experience there, you might not want to train there.
• Time - If you work when the schools are open, especially if you have multiple jobs, then you might not be able to train at a martial arts school. This also goes back up to cost. If your schedule is so sporadic that you can only train once or twice a month at a school, why pay the entire monthly fee the school has?

Then pick another hobby? Just saying.

 

[skribs]

Then pick another hobby? Just saying.

Why should someone NOT do a hobby they enjoy, just because they can't enjoy it in the way YOU want them to?

 

[Tez3]

Why should someone NOT do a hobby they enjoy, just because they can't enjoy it in the way YOU want them to?

The way WE want them to enjoy it is safely, without injury to themselves or others which is unlikely, quite frankly, if you are trying to teach yourself. If you want to do something for enjoyment you should want to also do it properly, for example, the UK is an island and many people like messing around in boats, power and sailing, there's no licensing for them here so you can just buy/rent one then off you go bimbling around the coast. You can do courses teaching you how to handle boats, learn about tides, navigating etc but why bother? You can watch a video and away you go, all fine and dandy until things go pear shaped and the RNLI have to come to the rescue, hopefully anyway.
Why not take the time to learn how to do your hobby whether martial arts, woodworking, sailing whatever, properly, be taught by experts and really enjoy it, knowing that you aren't causing problems for yourself or anyone else.

When I was a kid, I learned how to swim from a grade school magazine. I have swum all my life and I have never had any swimming teacher.

In swimming pools/lakes or can you also swim in a riptide or other currants in the sea?

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

In swimming pools/lakes or can you also swim in a riptide or other currants in the sea?

I have trained my triathlon for 0.9 mile swim in the ocean. My swimming speed could not meet the triathlon requirement. I'm sure I can swim faster if I do have a swimming instructor.

Of course it's better to have an instructor. But you can still learn something without one.

 

[pdg]

other currants in the sea?

Sorry, it simply must be done

 

[JR 137]

Why should someone NOT do a hobby they enjoy, just because they can't enjoy it in the way YOU want them to?

Everyone can do whatever they want. If they want to do something halfassed and think they’re going to be good at it, more power to them. They want to walk around and let people know about their online belt, rock on. Just make sure you know how to fight before doing this, so if you hit a Bruce Lee pose when someone talks doo-doo, you still have a chance.

I’m just some random guy on the internet. I wouldn’t trust me either.

I’ve always wanted to learn how to pole vault. I think I’ll learn it online. No coaches close enough to me. I don’t have enough money. I don’t have enough time. Someone was mean to me somewhere, so I’m not going to look for a coach who could also be mean to me. I’m going to learn it online and practice in my back yard. My goal is to clear the 8ft or so fence my neighbor has so if my kids ever hit their ball over there, I can get it back.

Sounds stupid, right? Sounds like I could get hurt, right? Wish me luck.

 

[skribs]

Everyone can do whatever they want. If they want to do something halfassed and think they’re going to be good at it, more power to them. They want to walk around and let people know about their online belt, rock on. Just make sure you know how to fight before doing this, so if you hit a Bruce Lee pose when someone talks doo-doo, you still have a chance.

I’m just some random guy on the internet. I wouldn’t trust me either.

I’ve always wanted to learn how to pole vault. I think I’ll learn it online. No coaches close enough to me. I don’t have enough money. I don’t have enough time. Someone was mean to me somewhere, so I’m not going to look for a coach who could also be mean to me. I’m going to learn it online and practice in my back yard. My goal is to clear the 8ft or so fence my neighbor has so if my kids ever hit their ball over there, I can get it back.

Sounds stupid, right? Sounds like I could get hurt, right? Wish me luck.

You're making a lot of assumptions:

1. That learning to fight is the goal
2. That the person will take some online classes and then seek out a fight
3. That just because someone isn't learning the way you want them to learn, that they're half-assing it

Why couldn't you learn pole vaulting in your back yard?

 

[JR 137]

Why couldn't you learn pole vaulting in your back yard?

Case in point...

And probably all of these people are obviously coached.

 

[JR 137]

You're making a lot of assumptions:

1. That learning to fight is the goal
2. That the person will take some online classes and then seek out a fight
3. That just because someone isn't learning the way you want them to learn, that they're half-assing it

Why couldn't you learn pole vaulting in your back yard?

I didn’t make those assumptions. Not everyone’s looking to learn how to fight nor wants to fight. But some people do.

If you’re not thoroughly learning something from a qualified person, what should you call it? A solid education?